UKOOG welcomes the results of the 14th licensing round

18 August 2015

Ken Cronin, Chief Executive of UKOOG, the representative body for the UK's onshore oil and gas industry, welcomed the offers of the first licences in the 14th onshore licensing round by the Oil and Gas Authority.

"Over 2000 onshore oil and gas wells have been drilled in the UK, and 120 are currently operational, yet few people realise these sites are even there. The opportunity exists to create tens of thousands of jobs, reduce imports, generate significant tax revenue and support British manufacturing from an extremely small footprint which will benefit the environment at the same time.

"Research from the IoD shows that as few as 100 shale gas sites, each the size of only two football pitches, could reduce the UK's import dependency by half.

"We welcome the strong support from the industry with an increased number of licences applied for and offered and welcome new players into the UK industry for the first time.

With over 4 out of 5 of our homes using gas for heating and cooking, with gas and oil being used by our manufacturing industries to make everyday products such as plastics and textiles and with over 80% of our gas predicted to come from overseas by 2030 it is imperative that we develop our own indigenous sources of oil and gas.

"The offers of these licences and the continued support from Government are critical in developing a genuine UK based energy mix for this country and today's announcement is a significant move in helping us to reduce CO2 emissions."

UKOOG is the representative body for the UK onshore oil and gas industry, including exploration, production and storage. The organisation's objectives are to enhance the profile of the onshore industry, promote better and more open dialogue with key stakeholders, deliver industry wide initiatives and programmes and to ensure standards in safety, the environment and operations are maintained to the highest possible level. Membership is open to all companies active in the onshore industry including those involved in the supply chain. www.ukoog.org.uk